Live Review: Babyshambles at London Forum - 13th December 2004

Author: Karl Coppack

"Do you know me? I don't think so."

These are perhaps the most telling lines in the whole Babyshambles canon. Who does know Pete Doherty? Is he the misunderstood genius of a thousand tunes and a special insight into human pain or just another wasted junkie with a passion for poetry and a glib tongue? Well, tonight Pete isn't telling. He's showing you instead.

That's if he shows up. For those who have witnessed him live before there's a familiar anxiety to the beginning of the night. Those who have chosen to turn up at the loosely termed "stage time" aren't too surprised to see an empty stage. At 9pm we expect Babyshambles but are only greeted with the support band. This doesn't augur well for the evening. Perhaps some of tonight's audience went to the famed Camden Barfly gig, Aberdeen's Lemon Tree or one of the other no show gigs. Worried looks are exchanged.

"Not again?"

Then he's on. Did we ever doubt him? He strolls on with such a familiarity that we might have all just appeared in his living room. He's scrubbed up too. The pork pie hat and the suit replace the usual semi-naked stage outfit. Maybe it's the same suit he wore in court recently. He plops his hat on the mike stand and begins.

"Thanks for turning up to the soundcheck. How much did you pay to get in? Twenty quid? Jesus!" He's on form already. "In Love With A Feeling" sees him flop around the stage in his loose limbed fashion. Occasionally he throws his arms around a band mate. He audibly tells Drew "I told you I'd get you to the big time." Yes, we've got him in a good mood.

It can always turn nasty though. The highlight to those new to the Shambles is the Libertines' "What Katie Did". He brings a child onto the stage for the reprise. The kid looks scared at first, (wouldn't you be?) but gamely joins in for the last line. The followers of the Albion cheer loudly. It's another Pete surprise. This time last year at a Libertines gig he brought a dwarf onto the same stage to sing a sea yarn called "Sally Brown". Earlier that night we'd sat through Chas and Dave. Say what you like about Pete, he'll always give you a show. The kid exits stage right and the band give the crowd what they want. They roar into the now top ten hit "Killamangiro". He's a chorus in when he stops the band dead and accuses someone of throwing a glass at the child. He sits back on the drum platform shaking his head. The whole crowd feels chastised. It's not for long though. He's on his feet and back again a minute later. He can only resist the mike for so long.

He can only end on one song. The ode to his mate and mentor "Wolfman". The man himself appears for the song, backed by thumping drums. Then they're away and into the night. We can only guess where.

We might not "know" Pete Doherty but we learn a lot about Babyshambles. They are not a Diet Libertines, just filling in until he and Carl make up. We may never see Pete and Carl dive from the same stage again but it's not to say that the rest of the Shambles are a mere "Pete Doherty Plus Three". True, they'll never have the same sense of camaraderie and passion as the Libertines but they exist comfortably in their own right. Even without the Libertines, this band would have made it. They're already England's primary band and they haven’t even got an album out yet. You don't get that from one man's charisma.

So who is Pete Doherty? He's a man with enormous talent, slightly misunderstood and not entirely reliable. He may not always turn up but once he has you know he's there. Surely that's enough for anyone.

So do we know him? I don't think so.